The FiscalDoctor Is In - Best Practices for Long Term Business Health

What you don’t know about your business …..

2012-02-14T08:13:00Z

What if the cost of what you don’t know about your business, could be your business? Or your job, or the job of your friend? With all the latest economic turmoil, continuing questions about cooked Greek books and the economic risk to innocent people, questions about a lost decade, etc., how can you turn cod liver oil into a competitive advantage to excel and increase your lead over competitors?

A viewer suggested I bring back this evergreen discussion on What is the cost of what you don’t know about your business? Gary W. Patterson, author of the book, “Stick Out Your Balance Sheet and Cough,” helps you find the answer, and learn how to avoid the risks those things may bring, in this AIE Imaging Executive podcast.

Help reduce your blind spots with my interview podcast on What is the cost of what you don’t know about your business? Gary W. Patterson, author of book, “Stick Out Your Balance Sheet and Cough,” helps you find the answer, and learn how to avoid the risks those things may bring.

www.imagingexec.com/webpage/what-you-don-t-know-about-your-business

Consider listening with the intent of finding an opportunity to exploit you had forgotten about, a risk you really should address while there is still plenty of time, or some unique insight that was almost invisible.

The check's NOT in the Mail

2012-02-07T08:19:00Z

Interesting Forbes article: this study says slowest paying results in a decade, with comments for several sectors.

U.S. companies continued to guard their cash despite increasing salesin 2011, reflecting continued uncertainty in the economic recovery and slower paying customers.

Privately held businesses, which account for up to 70 percent of GDP and generate 80 percent of new jobs, stretched their average time for making payments to the highest level in a decade, according to an analysis of financial statementsby Sageworks.

Private companies’ accounts payable had an average age of 26 days in 2011, more than three days higher than in 2010 and the highest age since at least 2002, data generated by Sageworks’ financial analysis softwareshows.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/sageworks/2012/01/06/private-companies-paying-later/

“What I’ve been told is companies are extending payments to their vendors because they’re getting stretched on the cash receipts from sales to their customers,” he said. “They can only pay bills as cash permits.”

“I think they’re really prioritizing who they pay, and a lot of time they pay whoever barks the loudest,” he said.

Some manufacturers are paying the oldest invoice first and letting the next one age before paying that one. Others have the cash but are pushing vendors to wait on payment anyway, in order to generate what little interest they can on their funds. Another factor for some companies may be that banks have tightened up on lines of credit, giving companies less flexibility to tap that resource for short-term cash needs, Cole added.

As you contemplate which aspects of this study you have seen, ask yourself an upside questions. Where is your King Cash locked in a dungeon and how can you break some of those chains?

Alan Weiss’s Society for Advancement of Consulting® (SAC) Re-certifies

2012-01-31T20:12:00Z

Gary W. Patterson for Outstanding Performance in Area of Expertise

Dec 14, 2011 – East Greenwich, RI – Society for Advancement of Consulting^® LLC (SAC) awarded Gary W. Patterson, Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) expert and speaker, an infrequently granted distinction of being re-certified for the fourth year as a “Board Approved” member in his specialty as Trusted Adviser for Growth Companies. Re-certification signifies that Patterson has the highest continuous record of professional performance over an extended period of time as measured by SAC. To this end, Patterson has adhered to the ethics pledge of the organization and has provided client proof attesting to exceptional performance in his area of consulting. SAC was founded by Alan Weiss (Ph.D.), a consultant whose unparalleled reputation has advanced the prestige and standing of the consulting industry.

Fewer than five percent of SAC members are granted Board Approval, which represents a distinguished membership of fewer than five percent of all practicing consultants nationwide. Board Approval is granted only after detailed client evidence is received and reviewed. SAC’s CEO Weiss comments, “We already have as our membership the most elite consultants practicing in the world. To achieve this still higher level of performance in addition to our entry requirements is quite impressive. Clients who hire Board Approved SAC members have the assurance that they are working with the ‘best of the best.’ ”

About Society for Advancement of Consulting^® LLC
SAC is an international association of distinguished consultants who meet the following criteria: validated proof of high performance in their areas of expertise; successful completion of client engagements; testimonials from client executives; high income over a prolonged period; minimum of 25 clients; and adherence to the highest code of professional ethics. SAC members interact as an international community to advance the profession and consulting techniques in compliance to a strict code of professional conduct. To learn more about SAC, go to www.consultingsociety.com. http: href?>
About">www.consultingsociety.com.

About Gary W. Patterson
Gary W. Patterson, president & CEO of FiscalDoctor^®, has been a consultant for more than 200 companies spanning supply chain, high tech, transportation, construction, and service industries. Patterson is a renowned speaker on ORM, ERM, corporate governance, risk analysis, and leadership.

Patterson is the author of Stick Out Your Balance Sheet and Cough: Best Practices for Long-Term Business Health (http://tinyurl.com/stickoutbalance) and the forthcoming book What the CEO Needs to Know and Doesn’t: The Why and How To Tell Your CEO”. For more information, visit www.fiscaldoctor.com. Patterson also offers a "free" fiscal fitness test at www.fiscaldoctor.com/fiscaltest.html. He can be reached at 781-237-3637.

Board Members: What Assets on Your Books Lost Substantial Value?

2012-01-24T15:28:00Z

December 20, 2011 – Atlanta, GA What blind spot has occurred on your balance sheet or in your business asks Gary Patterson, FiscalDoctor®, ERM expert and speaker and author of the forthcoming 2012 book Finding Your Million Dollar Blind Spots: What the CEO Needs to Know and Doesn’t: The Why and How To Tell Your CEO”.

Rightly or wrongly, too many organizations, their Board of Directors and executive leadership team only devote substantial additional efforts to identify financial and strategic blind spots around fiscal yearend audits. Consider

How rapidly moving changes like moving to the cloud mean assets on your books could now be substantially overstated. Even preliminary movements to the cloud mean the economic value of capitalized IT assets may now have less economic value
Where your people know asset values have softened and yet have not been willing to step forward to tell you.
Where your people know assets need reallocation to meet key results for next year and are afraid to be the bearer of bad news.

How comfortable are you that you would not have to say yes to one or more of these type issues?

Current asset values now may have a questionable economic value.
The company would be better off selling certain assets at a loss to free up cash for more promising opportunities.
Someone in your organization has painted an overly optimistic picture of the company to a customer, vendor, or financing source.

About Gary W. Patterson

For more information, visit his website at www.fiscaldoctor.com. Patterson also offers a "free" fiscal fitness test at www.fiscaldoctor.com/fiscaltest.html. He can be reached at 678-319-4737.

Or consider, the FiscalDoctor’s Fiscal Fitness Service, which includes a thorough analysis and review of financials and systems to identify risks and opportunities, and promises “10 strategic recommendations that will provide a framework for better managing challenges inherent in growing your company.” Find your blind spots in time to make better business decisions.

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Jump Start Your Business with These 10 New Year’s Resolutions

2012-01-17T11:14:00Z

Atlanta – January 9, 2012 – Gary W. Patterson, FiscalDoctor® (www.fiscaldoctor.com), offers ten New Year’s resolutions to help companies uncover hidden risks, adopt a positive attitude in the new year, and pursue opportunities that may be lying dormant.

1. Review the three best opportunities you can pursue longer term, and create a game plan.

2. Examine the three top risk areas your business faces in the short and long term, and develop a contingency plan to keep Murphy’s Law at bay.

3. Evaluate the three most crucial infrastructure issues your company will face over the next couple years.

4. Examine your staffing levels and staff on a "green field" basis. Ask yourself the following questions: If you were starting a new company today, would you hire the same employees you have now? If you were to hire them, would you have them in the positions they are in today?

5. Learn which products are losing money, and either get rid of them or, at the very least, consider raising prices.

6. Determine the cost of the risks you don’t know, such as potential inventory mismanagement, hidden product or service quality problems, and inaccurate or unrealistic financial statements.

7. Ascertain your company’s ten top customers not only in revenue, but how much they are actually contributing to profits and the bottom line.

8. Evaluate and improve where needed the speed and quality of your cash flow and key metrics monitoring for a choppy, turbulent year ahead. For example, gauge how your company would be affected by unexpected developments such as declining profitability of your top customers.

9. Ask yourself whether your company is in a position to seize market opportunities. Those who focus on turning this economic downturn into golden opportunities will emerge winners.

10. Review your own performance over the past year and commit to working better and smarter in the coming year. What are your strengths and weaknesses? What areas are you willing to work on to improve your performance over the next year? Are you willing to seek help to uncover your blind spots?

About Gary W. Patterson

Gary W. Patterson, President & CEO of FiscalDoctor®, works with leaders who want to uncover their blind spots so that they can make better decisions.© He has helped companies spanning supply chain, high tech, transportation, construction, and service industries. Patterson is a well-known speaker on enterprise risk management (ERM), operational risk management (ORM), strategic budgeting, risk assessments, leadership, and change management. His forthcoming 2012 book is titled Finding Your Million Dollar Blind Spots: What the CEO Needs to Know and Doesn’t: The Why and How to Tell Your CEO.” FiscalDoctor® offers services from a financial/operational assessment identifying key issues for resolution to a comprehensive enterprise risk management (ERM) review for creating a roadmap to achieve corporate vision and goals.

For more information on the FiscalDoctor, visit his website at www.fiscaldoctor.com. Patterson also offers a "free" fiscal fitness test at www.fiscaldoctor.com/fiscaltest.html. He can be reached at 678-319-4737.

Five Steps To Help You Turn Past Mistakes into Opportunities

2012-01-12T11:23:00Z

Suggests Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Expert and Speaker Gary W Patterson

January 9, 2012 – Atlanta, GA –“Why do so many c-level executives fail to learn from past mistakes?” asks Gary W. Patterson, FiscalDoctor® and author of the forthcoming 2012 book, Finding Your Million-Dollar Blind Spots©.

Underlying every failure is an opportunity to learn, grow, and succeed, proclaims Patterson. Yet, so many executives are quick to sweep their mistakes under the rug and go blindly and blithely into the future. True leaders are those who are willing to take off their blinders, admit their mistakes, and learn how to make better decisions moving forward. Below are five essential steps that can help you come to terms with your mistakes and position yourself for future success.

Step 1: Be honest and take responsibility for the mistake.

Step 2: Dissect your decision-making process and isolate the areas that may have factored into your making a poor decision.

Step 3: Review the situation (market conditions) surrounding your decision. Was the decision made in haste? Did you have all the information needed to make an informed decision? Did you do due diligence?

Step 4: Discuss the problem with others who may have been involved in the decision making. Analyze the role each person played in making the decision. Did you have the right people with the right expertise at the table?

Step 5: Review your own behavior and attitude. For example, do you feel the need to be right all the time? Do you discourage honest, open communication? Do you foster a group-think mentality? Are you willing to face your blind spots? Are you willing to change? Are you willing to seek help in learning how to make better decisions?

About Gary W. Patterson

Gary W. Patterson, president & CEO of FiscalDoctor^®, works with leaders who want to uncover their blind spots so that they can make better decisions.© He has helped companies spanning supply chain, high tech, transportation, construction, and service industries. Patterson is a well-known speaker on enterprise risk management (ERM), operational risk management (ORM), strategic budgeting, risk assessments, leadership, and change management. His forthcoming 2012 book is titled Finding Your Million Dollar Blind Spots: What the CEO Needs to Know and Doesn’t: The Why and How to Tell Your CEO.”

Building Products Executives: How to Find Your Million Dollar Blind Spots

2012-01-10T20:13:00Z

December 12, 2011 – Atlanta, Georgia – Enterprise risk management (ERM) expert Gary W. Patterson, FiscalDoctor®, will present a How to Find Your Million Dollar Blind Spots workshop as part of the 2012 Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) March 1-2, 2012 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center, Atlanta, GA, USA.

Lumber product and building product executives can learn a common sense, value-added approach to risk management that helps executives not only unearth key risk areas, but in the process, identify formerly invisible opportunities leading to growth and profitability.

The website with full information on the event, location, registration etc. is http://pelice-expo.com/about.

About PELICE

PELICE, which is held every other year, is hosted by Panel World magazine and Georgia Research Institute. It will also include more than 50 speakers addressing a range of topics and issues in the structural and non-structural wood products industries.

The third Panel & Engineered Lumber International Conference & Expo (PELICE) will be held March 1-2, 2012 at the Omni Hotel at CNN Center in Atlanta, Georgia. The location in the Grand Ballroom North is the same as the PELICE events in 2008 and 2010. PELICE is again sponsored by Panel World magazine and Georgia Research Institute. Once again, PELICE will be immediately preceded by the second Bioenergy Fuels & Products Conference & Expo, which for the first time will be held in the Grand Ballroom North.

About Gary W. Patterson

Gary W. Patterson, FiscalDoctor® is an internationally well-known expert and speaker on ORM, ERM, strategic planning, due diligence, business leadership, and risk analysis experienced in both the construction and building products industries. He is the author of the forthcoming 2012 book “Finding Your Million Dollar Blind Spots. For more information on the FiscalDoctor, visit his website at www.fiscaldoctor.com. Patterson also offers a "free" fiscal fitness test at www.fiscaldoctor.com/fiscaltest.html. He can be reached at 781-237-3637.

Contact
Gary W. Patterson

781-237-3637

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How Does a 4th Quarter Flat Or Depressed Outlook Affect Your Strategic Planning?

2012-01-05T13:37:00Z

The Business Roundtable’s fourth quarter CEO Economic Outlook Survey show a continuation of third quarter expectation trends for sales, capital spending and hiring, which were down from the first quarter. Two thirds of the group plan flat or lower hiring for next year.

“The findings of this survey reflect the continuation of a slow, uneven recovery characterized by ongoing economic uncertainty for American businesses,” said Jim McNerney, Chairman of Business Roundtable and Chairman, President and CEO of The Boeing Company.

To help you evaluate where the correspondents are coming from and how much to read into the survey, this is how they describe themselves. Business Roundtable (BRT) is an association of chief executive officers of leading U.S. companies with over $6 trillion in annual revenues and more than 14 million employees. BRT member companies comprise nearly a third of the total value of the U.S. stock market and invest more than $150 billion annually in research and development – nearly half of all private U.S. R&D spending. Our companies pay $163 billion in dividends to shareholders and generate an estimated $420 billion in sales for small and medium-sized businesses annually.

Details of this survey are available at

http://businessroundtable.org/news-center/business-roundtable-releases-fourth-quarter-2011-ceo-economic-outlook/

After considering which of their projections impact you, set aside some quiet time to think about your situation and organization.

Where is it hunkering down time to redeploy or conserve resources?

Where can you use your resources to create a low risk upside?

What aspects of a fortress balance sheet do you REALLY have?

What Opportunity Won’t Occur Unless You Address Blind Spots?

2012-01-02T08:19:00Z

Asks Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) Expert and Speaker

December 28, 2011 – Atlanta, GA – “Too many strategies suffer from blue-sky syndrome as a result of executive blind spots,” warns Gary W. Patterson, FiscalDoctor® and author of the forthcoming 2012 book Finding Your Million Dollar Blind Spots©.

The reason why strategic planning sessions have become the laughing stock of corporate America in recent years is because too many executive teams refuse to roll up their sleeves and tackle the real issues and challenges they face. Instead, they put on blinders and craft strategies that are detached from the company’s bottom line performance and market conditions. For the most part, group-think mentality sets in and everyone goes along for the ride…usually heading in the wrong direction. Take the basic test below to see if your executive team suffers from blind spots.

Is your balance sheet based on facts and a rock solid analysis of your company’s performance over the past two years? Or, are you manipulating the numbers to make the company and the executive team look good?

Has your top down strategic plan and budget been tested with bottoms up verification?

Does your five-year strategic plan sound suspiciously familiar by years four and five? In other words, does your executive team plug in the same financial assumptions articulated in an older plan?

Do you praise and pat each other on the back for all your hard work, knowing in your heart of hearts that many serious problems have been swept under the rug, including some dead weight?

Do you leave the strategy meeting knowing full well that there are a few white elephants left in the room?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, you are undoubtedly suffering from blind spots.

About Gary W. Patterson

C-Level Executives: Strategy How to Improve Margins on Your Income Statement

2011-12-27T16:52:00Z

Enterprise Risk Management (ERM) expert and speaker Gary W. Patterson, president and CEO of FiscalDoctor®, asks: Have you ever observed that it seems that every five to ten years something traumatic happens in the economy or your industry? Just as bad is the situation that happens when your business gets a little complacent or myopic by offering too many products whose profit margins have narrowed over time. When this happens, a company may find itself in a double bind because it lacks the cash flow to develop new products that have high margins. There’s the rub: Without cash and strong bottom line profits, a company lacks the financial resources to put new products into your pipeline.

This download also discusses income statement critical areas that you should examine more closely to help you gain insight into your income statement. And stories.

More details are included in Understanding Income Statements with The Fiscal Doctor which is also Part 2 part of his audiobook Fiscal Fitness System series audio. The Fiscal Fitness System: Understanding Balance Sheets, Income Statements, and Cash Flow (Made for Success Collection) http://t.co/VJHjdfk

Or consider, the FiscalDoctor’s Fiscal Fitness Service, which includes a thorough analysis and review of financials and systems to identify risks and opportunities, and promises “you will receive 10 strategic recommendations that will provide a framework for the challenges inherent in growing your company.” Find the lack of information creating your million dollar blind spots in time to make better business decisions.

About Gary W. Patterson
Gary W. Patterson, president & CEO of FiscalDoctor^®, works with leaders who want to uncover blind spots so that they can make better decisions. He has helped companies spanning supply chain, high tech, transportation, construction, and service industries. Patterson is a well-known speaker on enterprise risk management (ERM), operational risk management (ORM), strategic budgeting, risk assessments, leadership, and change management. His forthcoming 2012 book is titled Finding Your Million Dollar Blind Spots: What the CEO Needs to Know and Doesn’t: The Why and How To Tell Your CEO”.

How Does September 2011 Report Asking About Storms Ahead Apply To You?

2011-12-22T08:12:00Z

RONIN’s website says they are a global market intelligence provider, providing the research insight that enables clients to achieve their business goals requires a team which acts together synchronizing its various skills and expertise to provide a seamless result just as rowers “pull together” to synchronize their actions and win the race. Their recent survey appears to apply to a number of areas outside of IT.

http://www.ronin.com/webinar/webinar7/RONINPulseReportWebinarWave7.html

I saw three key points, which seem applicable to business ranging from low tech to service to high tech.

Move to buyers moving into strategics and short termers groups.

Vendor loyalty has waned

More orientation to the numbers and economic justification.

These three issues sound simple and logical until you think about how to use it for your particular situation at this unique time and your specific business model horizon. To make something actionable and put some money in your pocket (after all, I am the FiscalDoctor, so that is part of the value people say you receive from me), consider the question below.

If you are in IT or your business is impacted significantly by IT trends, how will this information help you steer your business between accelerating for opportunities and hunkering down on the risky economic curves you anticipate?

What three points do you see as applicable to your business?

Avoid Lack of Financial Information and Financial Blind Spots

2011-12-20T11:24:00Z

Your Balance Sheet Information Is Key to Survival Says ERM Expert

November 28, 2011 – Atlanta, GA – Steven Pomeranz CFP Pomeranz Financial Management, Inc interviewed Gary W. Patterson, ERM expert and speaker and author of “Stick Out Your Balance Sheet and Cough: Best Practices for Long-Term Business Health.”

The discussions included a range of topics ranging from lack of financial resources, particularly cash management, balance sheet issues, the MF Global breaking bankruptcy and why it seems the world never seems to learn. Hence the phrase back to the basics continues to be appropriate.

The discussion included the following takeaways.

Does your cash management process include a minimum of 6 months visibility on cash? Cash is Emperor now and always will at least be king.
How long does it take to provide crucial financial statements to your staff and executives? If it takes 15 to 45 days, there may be problems lurking. Useable future not outdated historical is not what is needed to run your business/ job search etc.
Do you have a business level one page flash report tracking the 3 to 5 key factors to run your business? – sales backlog etc.

The entire interview is available at http://www.onthemoneyradio.org/guests/uploads/762.mp3

About Steven Pomeranz
Since 1981, Steve has helped educate and counsel investors with truthful answers to help people make informed money decisions. Steve Pomeranz is considered "The Investor`s Advocate" and is host of the popular financial radio show, “On The Money”.

For more details on the program and interviewer, visit www.onthemoneyradio.org or www.slpomeranz.com

About Gary W. Patterson

Gary W. Patterson, president & CEO of FiscalDoctor^®, works with leaders who want to uncover blind spots so that they can make better decisions. He has helped companies spanning supply chain, high tech, transportation, construction, and service industries. Patterson is a well-known speaker on enterprise risk management (ERM), operational risk management (ORM), strategic budgeting, risk assessments, leadership, and change management. His forthcoming 2012 book is titled Finding Your Million Dollar Blind Spots: What the CEO Needs to Know and Doesn’t: The Why and How To Tell Your CEO”.

Or consider, the FiscalDoctor’s Fiscal Fitness Service, which includes a thorough analysis and review of financials and systems to identify risks and opportunities, and promises “you will receive 10 strategic recommendations that will provide a framework for the challenges inherent in growing your company.” Find the lack of information creating your million dollar blind spots in time to make better business decisions.

The FiscalDoctor Is In - Best Practices for Long Term Business Health

What you don’t know about your business …..

The check's NOT in the Mail

Alan Weiss’s Society for Advancement of Consulting® (SAC) Re-certifies

Board Members: What Assets on Your Books Lost Substantial Value?

Jump Start Your Business with These 10 New Year’s Resolutions

Five Steps To Help You Turn Past Mistakes into Opportunities

Building Products Executives: How to Find Your Million Dollar Blind Spots

How Does a 4th Quarter Flat Or Depressed Outlook Affect Your Strategic Planning?

What Opportunity Won’t Occur Unless You Address Blind Spots?

C-Level Executives: Strategy How to Improve Margins on Your Income Statement

How Does September 2011 Report Asking About Storms Ahead Apply To You?

Avoid Lack of Financial Information and Financial Blind Spots

The discussions included a range of topics ranging from lack of financial resources, particularly cash management, balance sheet issues, the MF Global breaking bankruptcy and why it seems the world never seems to learn. Hence the phrase back to the basics continues to be appropriate.

The discussion included the following takeaways.

The entire interview is available at http://www.onthemoneyradio.org/guests/uploads/762.mp3

About Steven Pomeranz Since 1981, Steve has helped educate and counsel investors with truthful answers to help people make informed money decisions. Steve Pomeranz is considered "The Investor`s Advocate" and is host of the popular financial radio show, “On The Money”.

For more details on the program and interviewer, visit www.onthemoneyradio.org or www.slpomeranz.com

About Steven Pomeranz
Since 1981, Steve has helped educate and counsel investors with truthful answers to help people make informed money decisions. Steve Pomeranz is considered "The Investor`s Advocate" and is host of the popular financial radio show, “On The Money”.